For a while, the palace remained in complete uproar—much like the chaos that had followed my mother's death years ago.
The Emperor lay gravely injured after falling from his horse. The Empress's quarters had been robbed. And the treasure vault containing vast wealth had burned to ashes.
Kavala's brother, Marquis Dnieper Blanco, was said to be searching everywhere for the thief—but the culprit remained frustratingly uncaught.
Given the circumstances, my wedding to Callius was naturally postponed.
In a palace where misfortunes were piling up like winter snow, it was impossible to hold a grand banquet while the Emperor lay bedridden.
Everything was proceeding exactly as I'd expected. Exactly as I'd planned.
I was immensely satisfied.
No one could have guessed that an unexpected victor was laughing quietly to herself in the midst of all this chaos.
And so the day finally arrived for me to depart for Ronheim.
On the morning of my departure, I paced anxiously around my bedroom.
The time when Callius was supposed to arrive to collect me was rapidly approaching.
The maids seemed to think I was nervous about the journey—but I wasn't worried at all about following Callius to Ronheim.
What troubled me was something else entirely.
Karl...
Karl hadn't appeared since the day of my engagement ceremony.
I'd thought—hoped—I would see him at least once before I left.
There's no way he wouldn't come to say goodbye... right?
I was growing increasingly worried that something terrible had happened to him. It was the first time he'd gone so long without visiting me.
"Stop that. It's unsightly."
The maid who had been packing my luggage paused her work and came over to slap my hand sharply.
I'd been biting my fingernails without realizing it, driven by anxiety.
"Oh—I..."
I instinctively started to apologize, then caught myself and closed my mouth.
Don't apologize unnecessarily, Chloe.
But I didn't feel like getting angry with her, either.
I kept glancing toward the window instead.
Maybe he's nearby but can't show himself because the maid is here?
With that thought in mind, I gently pushed the maid toward the door.
"Just pack that much. I won't be able to wear most of these clothes in Ronheim anyway."
"But these are special gifts bestowed upon you by Her Majesty the Empress herself!"
The maid pressed me insistently, as if questioning whether I dared to disrespect Kavala's generosity.
Shortly after my marriage to Callius had been decided, Kavala had sent me an entire wardrobe of dresses—a grand gesture meant to demonstrate how much she supposedly loved me.
But in reality, there was nothing practical to wear in Ronheim among the garments she'd chosen. They were all summer dresses with low necklines, bare shoulders, and short sleeves—utterly useless in a land where winter reigned year-round.
If Kavala had truly wanted me to wear the dresses she gave, she wouldn't have sent such impractical gifts for my destination.
"I'll save them for later. I can wear them when I return to the palace for visits."
I deflected her concern with vague reassurances.
"As if it would even be possible to wear such beautiful gowns in a frozen wasteland like Ronheim..."
The maid muttered under her breath as she left the room.
As soon as she was gone, I rushed to the window and quietly called out.
"Karl! Are you there?"
But no matter how long I waited or how many times I whispered his name, Karl didn't appear.
I was on the verge of tears.
"You said you'd be with me wherever I went..."
His smile had been so vivid when he'd said those words—"Don't worry. There's a way."
I desperately wanted to ask him more about that mysterious method. Was he truly planning to follow me to Ronheim? Or had it all been empty promises?
At this point, I don't even care if Karl lied. I just want to see him one more time to say goodbye...
As I stood there, tears threatening to spill over, the maids outside called out that it was time to leave.
I tried to calm myself and wipe away any traces of crying.
That was when it happened.
Thunk!
Something flew through the window and landed at my feet.
"...!"
It was a note—folded tightly to reduce its size.
Even without checking, I knew exactly who had thrown it.
I snatched up the note and ran to the window, leaning out to look for him.
But Karl was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, I spotted unfamiliar maids and knights gathering in the garden below—people sent by Kavala to serve as my escort.
Perhaps because she'd felt Andrea's previous attendants were untrustworthy, Kavala had personally selected new servants from among her own loyalists to accompany me.
Those must be the reason Karl couldn't show himself. He just handed over the note and disappeared...
I stamped my foot in frustration, then carefully unfolded the paper.
The message was short and hastily scrawled—as if written in a desperate rush.
But as soon as I read those words, tears began flowing freely down my cheeks.
This time, they were tears of relief.
I was relieved that nothing terrible had happened to Karl. Relieved that he truly intended to come with me.
Really, Karl? Are you really going to follow me?
Instead of Karl himself, I clutched the note he'd left behind and held it tightly to my chest. Then I quickly hid it in a narrow crevice at the back of my dresser drawer.
It would be disastrous if someone found it while I was carrying it on my person.
As soon as I'd concealed the note, the maids came barging into the room with irritated expressions.
"We told you to come out! Why are you still dawdling in here?"
Their scowls deepened when they saw the tear stains on my face.
They clearly thought I'd been crying because I didn't want to leave for Ronheim.
"It's no use resisting now."
"Go outside immediately, Your Highness. People are waiting for you!"
The maids—perhaps worried I might suddenly change my mind and refuse to go—cornered me like hunters trapping prey and practically shoved me out of the bedroom.
But now that I'd read Karl's reassuring message, I felt nothing but relief.
I left the room without protest.
When I stepped outside, Callius, his men, and the servants sent by Kavala were all waiting for me.
"Your Highness."
Callius dismounted from his horse and bowed politely.
The maids beside me froze at the sight of him.
Unlike his previous appearance in a simple black suit, today Callius was dressed in full armor. The already imposing man looked twice as large with the thick fur cloak draped across his broad shoulders.
He wore tough black leather gloves, heavy boots, and plate armor that gave him an undeniably intimidating presence.
Not only Callius, but all his subordinates were dressed similarly—like a murder of crows descended upon the palace.
They look like crows...
Well, judging by their size, perhaps they were more akin to large eagles among birds—but their sharp, angular features seemed closer to ravens than anything else.
I like crows. They're strong and clever.
Callius extended his hand toward me.
The maids were so frightened of him that they couldn't even move.
I brushed past those trembling women and walked confidently forward to take Callius's hand.
The maids didn't know this—but I had absolutely no reason to fear him.
"Shall we go, Marquis?"
The words came out freely, without hesitation.
There was no anxiety in my steps. Only anticipation.
For some reason, a faint smile of interest flickered across Callius's lips.
He had the rough appearance of a man who could kill a bear with his bare hands—but when I approached him, he took my hand with surprising delicacy and warmth, then guided me gently toward the waiting carriage.
Just before I climbed inside, I leaned in and whispered to him.
"I have a favor to ask. Could you have one of your knights retrieve the green cushion and teddy bear from my bed? They're really precious to me, and I'd like to keep them safe."
Despite the suddenness of my request, Callius nodded without a word.
"Of course."
He called over the red-haired knight I'd helped during the Platus Bracelet incident and instructed him to fetch the items I'd mentioned.
The palace maids seemed wary of letting the knight enter the building—but they didn't dare block his path.
As soon as I settled into the carriage, the red-haired knight returned—carrying the cushion and teddy bear as if they weighed nothing at all.
How is he moving so fast?
"Is this what you requested, Your Highness?"
The cushion and teddy bear looked absurdly small and light in his large hands.
I can't even lift both of those at once...
"Yes, that's right. Thank you so much. Please set them down beside me."
He obeyed my instructions without question.
As the knight stepped out of the carriage, Callius climbed in and took the seat across from me. It seemed he intended to ride with me for the journey.
The carriage—which had felt spacious moments ago—suddenly seemed cramped with his towering presence filling the space.
As the door closed, Callius chuckled softly.
"These are your treasures? So precious that you can't leave them behind even when traveling?"
I nodded earnestly, resting my hands protectively on the teddy bear and cushion.
"Yes. Very much so."
My precious possessions—which I'd deliberately left behind as if they were unimportant—because I couldn't entrust them to the maids who had served me before, nor to the new servants Kavala had sent.
Even if I leave everything else behind, I absolutely must take these with me.
Because they're stuffed full of the jewels I stole from Kavala's vault.
I'd been slightly worried earlier when the red-haired knight had been carrying the teddy bear and cushion so lightly—as if they were filled with feathers instead of priceless gems.
Nervously, I lifted them myself to check.
Surely nothing fell out...?
No—they were still reassuringly heavy.
If only I were as strong as that knight... I could have taken every last treasure from the vault.
I sighed quietly in regret.
While I sat there seriously inspecting my teddy bear, Callius kept chuckling softly to himself.
What's so funny...?
I shot him a curious glance—but he simply smiled without explanation.
Meanwhile, the carriage began to move.
I turned toward the window, my heart pounding with excitement as the palace gates grew smaller and smaller behind us.
Finally.
Escape.
[ To be continued... ]
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